Rabiu Omaku
Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule has challenged Nigerian engineers to proffer solutions that will address the deficit in infrastructure in the country, as well as sub-Saharan Africa.
The Governor made the call while speaking as a guest at the first regional summit of the World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE), in Abuja, as he emphasized that the future of Nigeria lies in solid minerals and agriculture and not oil and gas.
He specifically called on Nigerian civil engineers to partner with Government at various levels in order to come up with ideas to support the government’s evolving policies that will address infrastructure deficits in housing, electricity, water supply, and roads, amongst others.
He, however, charged participants at the summit not to turn the event into an annual ritual but must endeavour to come up with realistic and sustainable plans that will meet the infrastructure needs of the country.
“I pray that it shouldn’t just be another summit where we just come up with ideas, discuss them on the pages of newspapers and social media and then we go back and forget about it until next year.
“For us in Nasarawa State, for everything that we picked, we are trying as much as possible to see that we implement it. That is why our implementation and our plans are usually realistic and must be sustainable.
“I call on you to partner with every one of us and I call on you to partner with the government and I pray all the intellectuals amongst you will be able to come up with the ideas to support the government so that the government will be able to come up with the policies. Because, government as I have always said, has no business being in business. The government only should be able to provide the necessary atmosphere for people to be able to operate,” he stated.
The Governor noted that even though Nigeria is blessed with oil and gas, the future of the country especially with a new emphasis on green energy, lies in the abundant solid minerals and greater opportunities in agriculture.
“We are always talking about oil and gas. As a matter of fact, when I became the Governor, we worked so hard to ensure that all these issues about oil and gas in the North also materializes. I am happy to inform you that today, they are concluding the drilling of the first oil well in Nasarawa State.
“But the opportunities are beyond that. The opportunities are beyond oil. The opportunities that we have in this country today in solid minerals, in agriculture are even beyond oil. That is why I said our country is blessed.
“Just like at the time that fossil oil is being discouraged, and green energy is being encouraged, we are now beginning to have huge discoveries of lithium all over Nigeria. As I am talking to you, we are discussing with three different companies that are not only going to be mining lithium in Nasarawa State but they are also going to be processing and finishing the product right here in Nasarawa State,” he stated.
He however pointed out that Nigeria can no longer afford a situation where raw materials are exported to be refined outside the country while importing the finished products.
“We have to reverse the same technology where we must be mining all the raw materials that we have in Nigeria and be able to go ahead and process and produce the finished products so that if we are exporting, let’s export the finished products from Nigeria to other African countries,” Engineer Sule said.
He expressed optimism that engineering is no longer the purview of men but that women are also coming into the profession and giving their contributions towards developing society.
In her opening remarks, Convener of the summit, Engineer Aisha Aliyu Umar, who doubles as the Continental Representative for Africa, World Council of Engineers, said the event would serve as a crucial platform for engineers, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the continent to converge and deliberate on pressing issues.
